1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to means for preventing the inadvertent withdrawal of intravenous (I.V.) needles and the like. In particular, the invention allows hospital personal to continue the use of adhesive tape to hold needles and I. V. tubes in position while precluding the direct application of adhesive tape to the skin of the patient.
2. Prior Background Art
Damage can be done to the skin of infants and older persons receiving intravenous solutions. This damage comes about by repeated application and removal of adhesive tape used in maintaining the I.V. needle and tubing in position. Typical sites of such damage include the head of an infant and the hand or arm of a person undergoing I.V. procedures in the hospital.
The I.V. needle and tube must be anchored to prevent inadvertent removal of the needle from the patient. The tube is generally anchored at two points adjacent the needle, using adhesive tape to hold the tube in position on the person. In a recent case in which an infant was receiving an intravenous solution in a vein in its head, the removal of the adhesive tape ripped the child's tender skin and tore its ear from its head. Older persons with fragile skin are prone to damage caused by the removal of adhesive tape. The application of safe intravenous procedures with burn patients is similarly complicated.
The prior art is replete with devices for holding I.V. tubing and needles in position on a person's limb. However, all of these devices known to the inventor are complicated and depart from standard practice of maintaining needles and tubing in position with a short length of adhesive tape. It is the object of the present invention to permit hospital staff to maintain their long time practice of utilizing adhesive tape, a material readily available to a hospital's health care personnel, while providing a buffer of protection between the adhesive material of the tape and the person's skin.